The New Xena
by Aerilon452
Summary: Xena was once a proud warrior but made the mistake of crossing something that cursed her into a never ending cycle of reincarnation. Now it is 2009 and this new Xena's name is Xe. She is alone except for Ares who is still mourning the death of his Xena.
1. Chapter 1

Summary: Xena was once a hero, but she was cursed to be reincarnated over and over. It is 2009 and her name is Xe and she is being trained by Ares to control all the skills Xena once possessed. She is also trying to come to terms with who she used to be and what she feels for Ares.

Rating: M

Pairing: Xena/Ares

The modern world is built on the bones of the modern worlds that had come before. Xena knew this to be true, she had seen every century in her long cursed life. She had been condemned to be born into the world with her memories of what she had done and who she had been. In this new century her name was Xe and she lived on Olympus with Ares. He had found her like he said her would all those years ago. Ares had saved her from the life she lived.

Xe had been living on the streets, stealing from others just to survive. When no one came around she would camp out in the forest where others would not go. She wasn't afraid because she knew that whatever threat was out there didn't compare to what she could do. Her talent as a killer plagued her dreams and robbed her of all sanity. It made her a bitter young woman, so much so that she longed for the solitude of the woods or any secluded place she could get to. That was until they had come and taken her somewhere. She had been locked in a white room that had one small window, too small to escape through. The door even had bars on the outside. She had heard them slide into place when they threw her in here. All Xe wanted was to be left alone, but people had to come and find her and lock her up saying she was crazy. Xe wasn't crazy, she was cursed there was a difference.

Those first few days Xe would attack anyone who came in to try and inject her with drugs. Men that were twice her size fled when she had fought them. These modern men were no different. She had more cunning and deadly combat training. All these skills were locked inside the body of a 21 year old that had never even seen a battle. But that didn't mean she didn't remember the feel of battle and the feel of blood being spilt by a sword; by her sword. Xe could remember the feeling of riding her horse into battle. She was made to end lives but she couldn't even get out of this tiny white box that she had been locked up in. Her current future was looking bleak.

More days past and she thought that she would never get out. Xe wanted to be back out into the world just so she could be alone and not near anyone. It was what she wanted. Xe's heart belonged to the forest and the countless dangers that resided within the wooded depths. The part of the forest n which she had been captured had once belonged to the Horde. She could still see where intruder's bodies would have been put on pikes to warn others away. Xe also knew that there was a system of tunnels that led to a huge central camber where the Horde had slept at night. She had been on her way to one of the runnel entrances when she had been caught. There was nothing but time to go over what she had done wrong that had led to her capture, but as she thought it out, replayed every step, Xe knew that it couldn't have been her fault. Someone must have tracked her to her hide away.

It wasn't until her second week in captivity that she had remembered Ares. Xe knew that if she called him he would come to her. But it was debatable whether he would help her or not. Images of them together flooded her mind. They were together in the woods, or on a battle field. He always followed her, always wanted her to be his. In this new century she would be. "Ares." His name fell from her lips in a reverent whisper like she was in a church. When nothing happened Xe felt abandoned. The one person she knew who would always be there whether she wanted him to or not didn't come to her. In that moment Xe felt utterly alone. She curled up on the floor and for the first time started to cry for her hopeless situation. More than that, she had no way to escape. Xe was trapped and alone. Whether it was her crying or her sense of despair that reached out to the heavens, Ares came for her that night and took him some where she would be safe. He took her home where she belonged. And she belonged with him on Olympus.

Ares had come to her in the night like he used to. Looking down at the huddled mass that used to be his proud warrior made him want revenge on whoever had caused her to become like this. Xena was a warrior and a killer. She belonged out on the field of battle with a bloody sword in one hand and his banner in her other. But those times were long gone. This new "Xena" was nothing like the first one, his first love. Ares crouched down and looked at her. She was of the same complexion, the same hair, the same body. But one thing was different; Xena never would have called for him to save her. She would have found a way out of trouble by herself. This new version had learned something after all. Ares gently scooped her up into his arms and took them back to Olympus where he placed the sleeping Xena in his bed.

**MOUNT OLYMPUS:**

Ares lounged on his throne made of skulls and thought of his warrior princess; Xena. He thought about how she used to be, how proud she was. This new version, Xe was hard headed, stubborn, withdrawn, and haunted. There were things locked in her mind that Ares knew had to scare and confuse her. She was probably thinking, 'How can I remembering doing all those things when I wasn't even alive?' He knew her better than she thought. Slowly Ares was trying to train her to control her skills. He had been surprised at her summons. It had woken him from a sound sleep in the dead of night. Ares had looked around his chambers and thought that it was only his dreams that had caused him to hear her voice. But when he had heard the sobbing he knew that it was her.

Now she was home where she belonged. Xe, as she was being called now, was surrounded by people she used to know. For three days she refused to come out of his bedroom. On the fourth day Aphrodite managed to coax her out and into the sun light. But all that came crashing down when she had backed away from them all and cowered on the floor.

Hercules stood with his half brother, Ares. Both men had loved this woman and both men were at a loss as what to do with her. Before Hercules could move in to comfort Xe, Ares went to her and wrapped his strong arms around her gently. She huddled into the safety of his arms and continued to shake. "It's alright. Everything will be fine." Ares whispered over and over again. He truly wanted her to believe him. Her shaking subsided and she pulled back to look at him.

"You're not lying?" She asked, tears still staining her cheeks.

"Why would I lie?" He countered.

"Because you're Ares and you always lie." Xe responded.

"But not to you." Ares whispered close to her ear and pulled her back into the shelter of his body. He took that moment to take her back to his temple and put her to bed. Ares would have loved to stay with her, but she needed to get used to things first before he could be with her in the way he wanted.

"Ares?"

"Hmm?" Ares turned to her and felt his heart break slightly. She held out her hand towards him. He took it and allowed her to pull him into the bed with her. All she did was curl into his side and fall back to sleep. Ares stayed with her until he was sure she in a deep sleep. Only then did he get up to do things that Gods do when they don't want to sleep.

**TWO MONTHS LATER:**

"No, no, no. You're doing it wrong." Ares groaned. He and Xe had been training all day and she still couldn't get the moves right. She had been fighting against shadow warriors all day, but still she had not vanquished any. All Ares had given her was the staff to defend herself with. She knew how to use it but her current body was clumsy and didn't move right. Xe kept expecting her body to react like it used to, but nothing happened.

So here she lay on her back in the dirt with Ares towering over her, shouting at her all the things she did wrong. Xe pushed herself up and threw the staff to the ground. Then she turned on her heal and headed back towards the temple so she could get out of the blazing sun. This had been a waist of time. Her mind remembered everything she needed to do to defend herself, but her body wouldn't follow. Ares made the training equipment disappear and then followed after her. They had had two months of training but she was fighting him as he tried to instruct her as he once had. Xe still had her stubborn streak, just like Xena. Of course she had violently reminded him that she was not Xena. Ares remembered that, but still he couldn't help but see her reflected in Xe's ice blue eyes. The one thing Ares could not complain about was that he had her with him finally. But he had noticed the differences between his Xena and the new version. His Xena has a fierce determination in her eyes. Xe had nothing but a haunted scared look residing in her eyes. She would barely look at herself in the mirror. More than anything Xe hated to be reminded who her lineage is descended from.

"Xe, wait a minute." Ares called after her. He rushed after her and, not for the first time, wondered why he bothered at all. The answer was simple: He loved Xena, and he wanted Xe to be like her. That wasn't going to happen no matter how hard he trained her.

"I'm not getting it. This is pointless." She shouted and increased her pace towards his temple.

"You just have to trust your body and let it take over your defense." Ares appeared in front of her to make her stop running from him. "All you have to do is let your instincts take over. You were doing fine today. You just needed to let go a little more." Ares said. In the two months that he had been training her, her moves were no longer wild. She still tried to throw all her rage and pain into her moves but she ended up hurting herself. Ares stepped away from her and took in her appearance. Her 20th pair of low rise blue jeans were ripped in the knees and the thighs and muddy and the black tank top she wore hadn't faired much better. Xe's raven hair was pulled back into a loose braid, and even that had mud in it. She was a mess, but that never mattered to her.

Ares ran his hand through his shoulder length hair and sighed. They had been making progress today and then some switch got flipped in Xe and she just let the Shadow Warriors beat on her for a few good minutes. That was when he knew something wasn't right with her. Even if someone wasn't a trained fighter, they would never just lie down and let someone beat on them. Looking at her Ares willed them to the bath house where he had a hot bath waiting for her.

"Why don't you get cleaned up and we'll try something else." Ares whispered. he was about to turn when Xe reached out to him and took his hand. Something sparked in her eyes and he knew she was remembering something from her past. The bath house was the same as the one Xena had been in when she had come back from the dead after being crucified. She had had no desire to fight and was acting the way Xe had hated today with those Shadow Warriors.

Xe took off her clothes and immersed herself in the hot water. She had been beaten pretty bad today and it wasn't entirely her fault. Xe had been doing everything Ares had told her to do and when she had been about ready to deliver the killing blow something had stopped her cold in her tracks. It was like a cool breeze in her mind telling her to stop fighting. The voice had sounded like her own but not hers. That voice had to belong to Xena. She knew that a part of her still resided with in her somewhere. She knew that Ares had come up behind her. He was reenacting something that he had done with Xena. For now that was ok with her because Xe was in a nice hot bath and nothing could disrupt that. When he had put his hands on her shoulders Xe jumped slightly but then relaxed into his touch. Ares knew how to touch her to make her relax, he knew how to make her heart rate speed up, and he knew how to make her want him because Xena had wanted him with her body and with her heart. Xe leaned her head back and rested the back of her head on the ledge of the large garden tub. She had wanted to close hers and fight against the contentment she felt with Ares taking away all the kinks in her body, but something was slowly stripping her will to fight him away. The warm water and the massage from Ares was making Xe relaxed and content. So content that she had almost missed the name that flashed across her mind. _Gabrielle_.

"Who's Gabrielle?" Xe asked sitting up stopping Ares ministrations. He lowered his hands and sat on the ledge.

"She was the only person on this Earth who knew you inside and out. Gabrielle was you best friend, your sister, and your soul." Ares spoke with a mixture of pain and aw in his voice.

"You mean Xena. She knew Xena?"

"Yes,"

"I thought you knew the most about Xena?" Xe asked. This was the first time that she had ever wanted to talk about Xena.

"I created the monster, the Warlord, the Warrior that resides in you. Gabrielle gave that warrior a soul and made her a hero to others after all the evil that Xena had done at my bidding." Ares turned around and looked Xe right in the eyes. Reaching out his hand he tugged free the hair tie causing her hair to spill out of the braid. Ares had never understood why Xe had wanted to add different color's to her hair, but had done it for her anyway. He rubbed a lock of her hair that carried purple coloring between his thumb and index finger. She had blue, teal, and red running through her hair in addition to the purple.

"Are you turning me back into the monster Xena used to be?" Xe asked suddenly, but Ares didn't let go of the lock of hair he held.

"No, I couldn't do that to you. You've been through too much already."

"Did War grow a conscience?" Xe goaded.

"No, but he did learn from his mistake." Ares smiled. It was a smile that Xena had rarely seen but Xe saw it often. She lifted her right hand in used her index finger to trace his lips, lips that she knew would melt against hers.

Xe knew that Ares wanted her. It was all over his face and written in his eyes. She was his last link to the woman he desperately loved with all black little heart. Ares pulled away from her and said, "You should finish your bath." Then he was gone. Xe's shoulders slumped and she sank down under the water. She wasn't Xena and she was never going to be Xena. What did Xe expect? She was nothing more than a cheap copy of the woman he loved and trained. Ares had trained Xena with the hopes that she would one day she would take the mantle of his Heir, but that had never happened. Xena was dead and now the only link Ares had to her was through Xe; the cheap imitation.

**ARES TEMPLE:**

Ares left Xe to finish her bath alone. She had been making progress in her combat training but still the specter of Xena lurked over both of them. She would never be dead for him and Xe was haunted by her memories. The life they had was beginning to get hard for them. Xe didn't value herself the way Xena had. The girl had so much potential but it was being bottled up inside and beaten down by fear and a deep sense of revulsion. He could see it in her eyes even though she tried to hide it. There was something in him that wanted to take her and make all her hurt and pain go away but when he resolved himself to the task, one look from her would stop him dead in his tracks. For a split instant he would imagine that Xena was staring back at him and any minute she would tell him that her death had been a horrible nightmare and that it wasn't true. But even as he envisioned the words, Ares knew they would never come. His Xena was dead and the last link he had to her was through Xe, as stubborn as she may be sometimes.

Instead of instantly appearing in his temple Ares decided to walk. Xe would have finished her bath by now, and more than likely she would be sleeping in his bed. He had meant to prepare a room for her after she had time to get used to her surroundings but he never did that either. Xe had told him one night that the dreams ad nightmares were easier to deal with when he was close to her, when he was holding her. Ares would pretend only for an instant that he was holding his Xena and that she had come to him, but only for a moment.

When Ares slipped into the darkened room where his bed was he saw Xe sprawled on the left side, her back to him. She had on her ratty, torn jeans and her black tank top. He took a few seconds to drink in the sight of her. Her pale skin heightened by the blood red coloring of his sheets. Xe never slept under covers and neither had Xena. They restricted movement. Only in winter time would you see Xena sleeping under anything. He moved over on to the bed quietly, Ares didn't notice that Xe's right hand was slightly under her pillow, and just as he was about to put his hand gently on her shoulder Xe bolted up and pinned the War God on his back, burying the dagger in his chest all the way to the hilt. Xe bounded off the bed and turned her back on Ares and what she had done to him.

She was shaking when Ares locked one arm around her waist and with his right hand held the dagger to Xe's throat, "This is what we live by. You reacted the way you should have." Ares soothed, kissing Xe's temple. He backed away and dropped the dagger to the floor.

"Ares, wait. I don't want you to go." Xe reached out her hand but dropped it when he turned to face her. Ares could see the tears in her eyes but she refused to let them fall. Without saying anything more Xe crawled back into bed and waited for Ares to join her. He moved in close and pulled her into the safety of his body. She felt instantly better, all his warmth and strength seeped into her and allowed her weary mind to fall into some sort of unconsciousness that resembled sleep, a sleep where the nightmares would be waiting.

The next morning Ares found Xe leaning against on of the pillars on his balcony watching the sun come up. She gave off a relaxed pose, but he knew this not to be true. Xe was tense and a little afraid. Her night last night had not been an easy one. The nightmares had started and Xe was forced to relive everything Xena went through. It played hell with someone's mind. Xe would be lucky to come away from it with a little bit of her sanity intact. Ares remained unmoving as he watched his newest protégé fight the demons of someone else's past.

Xe knew Ares was awake and watching her but she didn't want to face him yet. She had been asleep for three hours when the dreams drove her into the waking world. That was when Xe had come out on the balcony to lean against the pillar. Her intention had been to the let the night soothe her weary mind so she could go back to sleep but that hadn't happened. Xe had been standing here for three hours and soon it would be dawn. She always loved to watch the sunrise. Nothing was more beautiful. Now Xe got to see it in a whole new light living her in a world within a world. Olympus had many things that the human world would never have. Xe got to see the sun rise as four fiery horses stampeded across the dreary night sky to bring light to the world. The first time she had seen it Xe had been terrified that the horse would scorch everything in her path. Ares had chuckled at her and then told her to keep watching. She would never look at another sunrise the same again.

While she had been sleeping, Xena's memories wreaked havoc in Xe's mind. She recalled a battle that took place in another land. Xena had been the invading force and she had cut a bloody pat of destruction to reach her goal. The land bowed down to Xena's rule. The scenery melted into another battle, only this time Xena was trying to prevent others from terrorizing innocent people. Xena was really trying to atone for her sins. If she really had atoned, then Xe wouldn't be here reliving past deeds and mistakes. Xena had done something that had gotten her cursed to a never ending cycle of reincarnation until she learned a lesson. 'What fucking lesson am I supposed to learn?!' Xe's mind shouted. Xe slammed her fist into the marble pillar and dropped to her knees letting and the rage and pain ravage her body. There was nothing else she could do.

"Xe?" Ares asked quietly making her name a question.

"I want it all to stop." Xe said her vice devoid of emotion.

"What would you have me do?"

"I don't know."

Ares moved in behind her and brought her into the shelter of his body trying to chase away whatever demon had his claws in her. But he already knew what was wrong. She had been thinking about Xena and comparing herself to the woman who she resembled. "If I could I would take these memories from you." Ares whispered and hugged her tighter.

"I wouldn't let you. They have at least taught me not to repeat _her_ mistakes." Xe replied. She had every single memory that belonged to Xena. The good, the bad, and the ugly. All of it was locked up tight inside Xe's mind.

"Why do you love her so?" Xe whispered.

"I love you." Ares replied in a gentle voice. He hated to see Xe suffer like this. Especially when he knew there was nothing he could do to help her.

"You love her. I'm the cheap copy."

"You and Xena are the same person. Both of you had painful beginnings. She lost her young brother to raiders and you lost your entire family to a drunken gunman who didn't know which way was up. She turned to War and so have you. War defined you both in different ways." Ares assured her. In his twisted mind he knew the difference between both women, but his heart wanted them to both be the same person. His love for Xena nearly died when she did, but then he had heard Xe calling to him for help, for him to save her and he couldn't resist. If there had been a way to save his Xena he would have, but he was grateful to have Xe with him now. She needed him in a way Xena hadn't. Ares sighed and gathered Xe into his arms where he carried her back to bed. He propped himself up against the headboard and held the quaking Xe in his arms the way you would a frightened child.

"ARES!" Someone bellowed from outside his temple. Xe and Ares sat up, but it was Ares who went out onto the balcony. Xe waited a few moments and then went to join him. The man who had shouted was none other than Hercules, Ares half brother and the favored one by Zeus. Xe knew him from Xena's memories. He was a kind man and another champion for justice. He had turned Xena down the path of right. She locked gazed with him, but she couldn't hold his stare. Xe was too ashamed.

"WHAT?!" Ares shouted back. Hercules was not his favorite. They constantly fought and argued. The last time they are argued had been about Xe and the fact that Ares wanted to train her. If Ares hadn't started to train her then her skills would have become more deadly. Xe remembered what Xena was like when her abilities had been honed with the training. She on the other hand had no training and her abilities would inadvertently kill someone. So the training was a necessity.

"I told you she didn't belong here." Hercules had appeared behind both of them.

"And I told you she is lot more dangerous out in the world by herself." Ares countered. He could argue for hours with his half brother if it meant keeping Xe with him.

"She's a human and humans have no place here in our realm."

"Then what are you doing here?" Ares shot back. Hercules had been human once but it was Zeus who had made him a God. And when Hercules had come back to Olympus her had brought back Morigann. They had their domestic bliss and no one else batted an eye at them. But when Ares finds Xe and brings her here everyone throws a fit.

"She has to go... right now." Hercules warned.

"'She' has a name." Xe said and shoved her way past Hercules and Ares. She had no intention of leaving... her sanity demanded that she stay right where she was.

"Xena?"

"I'M NOT HER!!" Xe shouted, "Stop expecting me to be her!"

"Xe..."

"No! I see the way you look at me too Ares. You look at me like any minute Xena will look at you through my eyes and that she will somehow take over my body being the woman you loved. Well I'm here to tell you won't! She's DEAD!" Xe shouted and fled the room. Ares knew better than to follow her when she was this angry.

Ares rounded on Hercules, "Are you happy now? You have no idea what she is going through!" Ares shouted. Hercules refused to understand the woman who looked like his dead friend, Xena. Even is Hercules was in pain he had no right to lash out at Xe. She was an innocent in all of this.

"You can't bring Xena back through that girl." Hercules seethed.

"I'm not trying to."

"Lie to yourself if you want but she has to go." Hercules disappeared leaving Ares alone to worry about Xe.

**GARDENS OF HERA:**

Xe had tried to resist the urge to cry and she inevitably failed. So here she sat crying under a willow tree. The wood nymphs had left her alone and went to frolic or do whatever they did to entertain themselves. Xe pulled her knees up close to her chest and hid her face. She just wanted to cry until there were no more tears and no more pain. But the pain was always constant in her life. Ares was the only one to make the pain less and he could chase away the demons Xena had left her.

"What ya cryin for?" A voice asked with a distinct Celtic lilt to it.

Xe looked up to see a red haired woman in ancient Celtic clothing. She had to be Morigann. Xe wiped at her tears and tried for a little bit of composure. But she failed. Morigann sat down next to her and lounged against the bark of the weeping willow.

"I wasn't crying." Xe sniffled.

"Oh, so those aren't tear tracks down your cheeks." She said and Xe looked at her but she couldn't say anything.

"Say, aren't you Xena?"

"No, I'm not her."

"You look an awful lot like her. Same hair, same eyes, and same voice."

"Well I'm not her." Xe stated.

"Oh, my mistake then." Morigann rose to her feet and offered her hand to Xe. "You wanna take walk and talk about it?"

Xe reached up and put her hand in Morigann's. The only God on Olympus to be nice to her was Ares. It was shocking that Morigann was being nice to her as well. She was the lover of Hercules. Xe knew that when any of them looked at her they thought they were looking at Xena and they would take out their rage on her. She had done nothing to deserve this from them. The only thing she had done was been born with the knowledge and memories of Xena as well as her features.

"How did you come to be here?" Morigann inquired. She wanted to get to know the girl the other Gods were making a fuss over. To Morigann this girl was innocent, scared, and troubled. She didn't deserve what was happening to her. Morigann knew that the death of Xena hit Hercules hard. He had trouble coping for years after, and now to have this exact duplicate walking around Olympus was not easy for him. But it must be harder for Xe.

"Ares, he saved me." Xe answered. It was true Ares had saved her from the institution. He'd come for her in the dead of night when all the others had been drugged into sleep. Ares flashed into her room and gathered her into his arms. One look told her he had come to save her and not condemn her. When she had woken in the morning it was to the beauty of Olympus and not to the sterile white room she had been caged in.

"Can I see you wrists?" Morigann asked. When she had been watching the young woman Morigann had noticed scars on her wrists. She was curious to know more about them. Xe stopped and for some reason thrust her arms out for Morigann to see. At one time the dreams and nightmares had grown so fierce that Xe had tried taking her own life to make it all stop. Someone had happened upon her and taken her to a hospital where they stitched her up and put her in her first mental ward. Three days later she escaped back into the woods and moved further into them where no one dared follow her. Morigann ran her thumbs over the angry scars and felt pain for this girl. What she must have been through to try and end her own life. Morigann herself could remember thoughts of death just to make her pain go away, but she had Bridgette to help with her own inner demons. One small smile from her daughter and Morigann's world would brighten. She could tell that when Xe was with Ares things were easier for her. Whatever plagued her, Ares seemed to make go away.

"Let's get you back to Ares then." Morigann said and set off towards Ares temple.

**ARES TEMPLE:**

Ares sat on the railing of the balcony when he heard footsteps approaching. He turned and saw Xe rushing towards him. Morigann was lurking in the entranceway, she wasn't sure if she was welcome. All that didn't matter because Xe was here with him. When she got to him Xe threw her arms around his neck and hugged him for dear life. He looked over her shoulder and towards Morigann. She held up her hands and then backed out of the room.

"Where did you go?" Ares pulled back from Xe and cupped her face in his hands. For the first time in his life he was really worried about her, and he hadn't been thinking about Xena. Ares had been thinking about Xe's safety.

"I was in the Gardens of Hera." Xe didn't say what she had been doing because she knew that Ares could see it for himself. She had been crying. For the first time looking in Ares eyes Xe could tell he loved her, but to be loved by War was to be consumed and possessed. Xe wasn't sure if that was what she wanted. All she wanted was to be held by Ares and feel some semblance of sanity come back into her. Ares wrapped his arms around her again and let his warmth seep into her. She had wanted to come back to him. Xe wanted to be here. Ares felt a ripple go through him. The others were calling him to the Great Hall.

"I have to go." Ares said.

"No, take me with you." Xe's voice was shaky. She didn't want to be alone with her thoughts. Ares said nothing. He took her hand and together they appeared in the Great Hall to see what was left of the once great Greek Pantheon.


	2. Chapter 2

Summary: Xena was once a hero, but she was cursed to be reincarnated over and over. It is 2009 and her name is Xe and she is being trained by Ares to control all the skills Xena once possessed. She is also trying to come to terms with who she used to be and what she feels for Ares.

Rating: M

Pairing: Xena/Ares

**GREAT HALL:**

Ares willed himself and Xe into the great hall to see who had assembled. Aphrodite was standing with Cupid, Psyche, and Baby Bliss. Hercules stood by the throne with Morigann at his side. There were other minor Gods and Goddesses standing around. The ones who managed to avoid being killed by Xena. Everything in Xe screamed at her to run back to Ares temple and hide under the covers. Instead she clamped her hand around his and tried to fight back the huge tidal wave of fear that was clawing at her insides. Xe couldn't get around it, she was afraid to be here among all the Gods, but she was even more afraid to be alone right now. Ares sensed her hesitation and guided her over to a secluded corner.

"There's nothing to be afraid of," He whispered.

"I know, but you don't get it," Xe replied and looked around, looked at everything but Ares. She couldn't take the look of compassion and love in his eyes. This was truly not the God of War she remembered.

"Get what?" Ares asked, concern ringing in his voice.

"I'm afraid all the time. I'm afraid that any minute I'm going to wake up and still be in that institution. This is the only safe harbor that I've known other than my own solitude. I don't want to wake up and all this be gone, I don't want you to be gone."

"Xe, you aren't going anywhere. This is your home now and I will kill anyone who tries to make you leave."

Xe heaved a small laugh at him. Now he was sounding more like the God of War he used to be. Ares was fierce and strong. His one flaw was that he loved a mortal woman who could never love him the same way. But this was a new era and a new version of that woman was standing before the Great War God. Things would be different.

"Come on, let's go see what Hercules wants and then after that I can take you anywhere you want to go."

Xe nodded but she kept a firm grip on Ares hand as they emerged from the shadows. Immediately all eyes locked on them. Again she felt that feeling of fear claw at her making her want to run, but she stood strong and next to Ares. Hercules raked an unfriendly gaze over Xe. She knew he was angry at Xena, but Xe never knew what had caused the rift between them. Xena had gone out of her way to bury that memory.

"I told you she had to leave!" Hercules shouted at Ares.

"And I told you no. Xe stays here," Ares stated. Xe could tell that he was collecting himself for a fight.

"Is it just me or did you two trade personalities?" Xe asked causing both Gods to look at her. Instinctively she backed away. Only she couldn't go too far because she still had a death grip on Ares hand. Their identical blue eyes never wavered from her and Xe grew uncomfortable. This was the first time that she had spoken like that to anyone other than Ares. When she was with Ares Xe found that she could speak more freely and be as sarcastic as she wanted. But when she encountered the others, Xe found herself becoming submissive to the point of ridiculous.

"What does that mean?" Hercules took a step closer to her and Ares made a move to stand in front of him. If Hercules was going to try for Xe he would have to go through Ares first.

"I mean whatever you're angry at Xena for get over it. It was so long ago and you can't take it out on me because I'm not her," Xe warned. As se continued to watch him his facial expression changed. The anger fled his eyes and was replaced by pain. Xena had been a good friend to him and at one time they had loved each other. Somewhere deep down Hercules still loved her but it was the love of good friends and comrades.

"You still don't belong here," Hercules whispered.

"I have no where else to go. If I leave here, the only safe harbor I have, then I will be tossed back into a crazy house."

"Xe..." Ares turned to her but he couldn't say what was on his mind. The day she had called out to him was the day he had been burdened with guilt. Ares felt guilt that he couldn't help any other the other woman who had been born to carry on Xena's legacy. But more than that he had been waiting for one of them to call for him, call for his help. Then one of them finally called for him. Xe had called for him. When he didn't go to her he listened as she cried in despair. Over the thousands of years that Xena had been gone from the world Ares found his heart breaking a little everyday. But when Xe called to him that pain fled. Ares wanted to reach out and caress her cheek but he restrained himself.

Hercules absorbed this new information. He knew she wasn't Xena. How could she be? This girl was radiating fear and shame. Her eyes alone screamed self hatred. It didn't help matters that Hercules had been taking his anger out on an innocent girl. Xe never asked to be born with knowledge far removed from the modern world. That still didn't change the fact that she didn't belong here.

Ares turned to his half brother and glared before taking Xe's hand. He willed them back to his temple where Xe would feel more comfortable. That was the one thing he could do for her. She sank to the black marble floor and stared at nothing in particular. Ares joined her on the floor and waited until she spoke. "Do I really have to leave?"

"No, this is your home now. I've told you that," Ares pulled her close and just held her. The one thing about her is that she seemed to calm quicker when he held her. In the early days of his association with Xena she had drawn strength and anger from his touch, never comfort.

"If your family was still alive..."

"They don't want me."

"Xe, I thought they were dead?" Ares asked. Xe had told him that her parents and sister had been killed by a drunken intruder.

"That was my foster family. My real parents left me on the streets with no name and no home," Her voice was devoid of anything by hatred for the people who had created her.

"Who were the ones who were murdered?"

"Lu Shang Ti, his wife Lai, and their five year old daughter Yan. When they found me I was seven and I still had no name and no education. They took me in and gave me a name. I was named Ye, but I could never write the Y it always came out X so they changed it to Xe Shang Ti. My foster parents were Chinese."

Ares processed this new information. She had never talked about her 'parents' as much as she had right now. He always thought that she had just hacked off the last two letters of Xena's name to try and differentiate herself from the long forgotten warrior. Nothing about Xe was normal.

"I want to see _her_ village. I want to see where it used to be," Xe muttered. Ares heard her as if she had shouted. He stood and pulled Xe up with him before they appeared in a clearing. Xe knew from her memories, Xena's memories that a village used to be here. Time had eroded most of it but the general layout was the same. Without second thought Xe walked towards where Cyrene's tavern used to be. Even though there was no building she could see it clearly in her minds eye. That was where Xena had grown up and tried to defend with her life. She walked on further and found the remnants of a tomb. It was where her brother and her mother had been entombed. No Xena's mother and brother. Ares came over to Xe and just stayed by her side. There was nothing he could say to her.

"One thing could be said for Xena, she never doubted herself, never hated herself. Xena only hated her past and what she had done."

"Xe..."

"No, there's no living up to what Xena was. She was a legend and a hero and I hate her for that. I hate what she has inflicted upon me. I can't even remember what she did to get cursed into this life. Her memories aren't the only ones I have floating around in my head. All the others that have come before me, I have their memories as well. Why did you never save any of them?" Xe asked but she didn't turn to him. She couldn't see his face and watch his eyes as his own personal pain swam into his beautiful pale blue eyes.

"They never called to me. I knew there were others, but I could never bring myself to go to them and they never wanted me to," Ares replied.

"They had all gone insane," Xe stated. She knew for a fact that they had. She remembered what it had felt like and what their deaths had felt like too.

"I never knew," Ares had always felt the others but beyond the barest rift in otherworldly energy that was all he knew of the others.

"They were afraid to call for you. Afraid that if you saw them that you would leave them to suffer," Xe's voice was shaking. Her mind was far from balanced; one thing could shatter her completely beyond repair.

"I've dealt with a crazy Xena before."

"This kind of insanity was different. It wasn't like the kind that the furies induced. It was like their minds were splintered. They had no concept of time and what was happening. Some of them believed that they were Xena," Xe took a step back from some of the faded, time worn stones and she allowed Ares to wrap his arms around her. Everyday that passed was one more day that Xe thought her sanity would end and she would spiral out of control. Being in the mortal world had made her mind teeter on the side of insanity with no hope of relief.

"Would it help you to see Xena's remains?" Ares asked. He knew where the Bard had buried Xena. As soon as enough time had passed he had come and put them in a place where they would be better able to weather time.

"She would be nothing but dust in the ground. Not even a marker would have survived this long."

"I entombed her remains in a place out of space and time where they would be safe," Ares replied. It had always been his intention to show Xe where Xena had been buried but she was still so fragile that it would be detrimental to her well being to show her before. Now he surmised that she was well enough. Before she could object Ares took Xe's hand and willed them to a place in the mountains of Greece.

**XENA'S TOMB:**

Xe kept her eyes closed for a few minutes longer. If she opened them then her mind would be bombarded with images. Images that she neither needed nor cared to see. But if she refused to look around then Ares would know she was scared and Ares didn't reward fear, at least the old Ares hadn't. The old Ares hadn't understood fear and there for he didn't tolerate it from anyone, not even Xena. At the thought an image appeared in Xe's mind. It was Xena as a young girl and she was huddled against the trunk of a large tree while a thunder storm raged on. Her hands covered her ears as the thunder splintered the sky in loud cracks. Then a man came and pulled her close trying to keep most of the rain off of her as the young Xena shook from the cold and from fear. Xe knew that it was Ares. _"Don't be afraid of the storm Xena. Fear will get you nothing in this life. You have to let it go."_ The young Xena looked into the dark mans eyes and nodded. He waited out the rest of the storm while the little girl clamped down on her fear. Xe remembered that Xena loved thunder storms. As if on cue a loud clap of thunder sounded from outside. Xe jumped slightly and opened her eyes.

When she looked around it looked like the inside of an ancient army commander's tent. The walls were done in crimson so dark it looked liked blood. There were even sword and shields adorning the walls. This was the tomb Ares had made for his beloved Xena; his heir. Xe didn't want to look anymore. Just as she was about to advert her gaze the column in the center caught her attention. On it was a small jar with Greek symbols carved into the clay; Gabrielle's handwriting.

"These really her remains?" Xe asked taking a step closer.

"Yup, that's really her in there."

"She was cremated?"

"Her last battle didn't go so well from what I was told. Gabrielle couldn't really tell me everything. Do you remember?"

"Just scattered flashes. All I know is that Xena had a chance to come back as flesh and blood but she refused... both times."

Xe stepped closer to the urn and lightly ran her fingers over the writing. She felt a shiver run over her entire body. It was as if her soul, Xena's soul, recognized what was in there. Yanking her hand back Xe stalked around the room as she fought to get the images under control. There were so many images it was hard to sort through them all. Xe could see things from a bloody battlefield to the intimate touch of a lovers caress. Then they would take a turn back to blood and gore. This was what must have driven the others insane. All the back and forth, it was enough to make her head hurt as well.

"No no no... this isn't right. Get me out of here," Xe had turned nervous. She was running her hands over her sides and then alternating between lightly rapping her knuckled fists on either side of her temples. Ares pulled Xe back into his arms and took them back to Olympus. Even though Xe had asked to come here it proved to be too soon for her. Her mind was still too weak to handle the wave of memories this placed caused.

As soon as they appeared in his temple Xe crumpled to the floor and shook. Ares curled around her and tried to offer what comfort he could, even though there was very little he could do. In the years since Xena's death Ares had under gone some personal changes of his own. True that War still fueled his powers Ares no longer endeavored to cause such strife in the world. There would always be two people who didn't get along and those would escalate into a War but he hadn't encouraged it. He was trying to make himself into a man worthy of Xena, but Xena was dead. It was the thought that count. Now here was Xe in his arms shaking from the burden of carrying so many memories that she was nearly insane from them. Ares felt remorse for her in such a way that he had never felt before. Xe turned and wrapped more of Ares around her. She needed the feel of his skin and warmth to chase away the memories. Without conscious thought Xe removed the vest that Ares wore and divested herself of the tank top so that her bare skin could touch his. She buried her face in the crook of his shoulder and breathed in the earthy, untamed scent that was pure Ares, pure War. Xena always loved the calm before a big battle, Ares scent was no different. Xe needed him in a way that Xena was afraid to admit. Love was the signifying constant between the past and the present. They were both in love with War, and that love would consume them.

"I'm damaged, you should just kill me now and get it over with," Xe sobbed. The mental strain she had to deal with was getting worse every second of the day. Ares was a stop gap at best.

"I won't do that. Don't you dare ask me to kill you," Ares growled at her. She was his world now and the last shred of his sanity was tied to her. He needed her alive and some what sane. He had dealt with a crazy Xena before; a crazy Xe wasn't that far out of his capabilities.

"I'm slowly slipping away. Everyday my sanity is less and less," Xe pushed herself away from him and curled up into a tiny ball. She was shaking. It hurt Ares to see her suffer and he knew there was nothing he could do to stop it. He reached his hand out to touch her but stopped just short of her bare shoulder. If she had wanted his comfort then she wouldn't have moved out of his arms. But he wasn't going to leave her, not like this. He moved over to the black marble column and sat with his back against it watching her. She was still shaking, but Ares let her work through it on her own. Xe needed to come to terms with who she is and who she used to be. Only then would she ever be free of the shadow that Xena cast. Things in Xe's mind were going to get much worse before it was going to get better.

Xe didn't know how long she lay there on the floor, but she knew that Ares never left her. He hadn't touched her or spoke to her but him just being in the room had to help calm the torrent of emotions running in her head. Slowly rolling over Xe scanned the room and quickly found where her Dark God was. he was asleep sitting against the black marble column. His head had drifted back and his legs were stretched out in front of him while his hands were loosely crossed over his chest. Xe got to her hands and knees and quietly crawled over to him. It was submissive pose and the part of her that was Xena demanded that she get up and flee the temple before Ares woke. But Xe didn't listen, she continued to crawl to her Dark God of War. When she reached him Xe was able to study him even more. Some of his long curly locks had fallen into his face and cast shadows over his eyes lending even more to the dark quality of him. During the times when he still slept and she was in the waking world Xe would watch him and relish that she had him, his attention, his love. Xena would never know Ares for who he truly was, but Xe did. She saw it in the way he would watch her, the way he spoke to her, and the way he slept. Ares was her God of War and that though terrified her to no end. Things could come unhinged so fast that Xe was scared to give him more of herself. Leaving such thoughts for another time Xe slowly sank down and rested her head in his lap as she allowed sleep to claim her.

**THE NEXT MORNING:**

Ares woke to the feeling of warmth wrapped around his waist, despite the fact that he had fallen asleep on a marble floor. He looked down and for a moment Ares let his mind believe that it was Xena on his lap and not the poor tormented Xe. The Xe has was slowly falling in love with. She had so much on her mind that the weight of it should have broken her sanity, but she was perched on the edge of the abyss and that was where she was intent on staying there.

Xe looked peaceful for one. Ares moved a lock of her hair and saw his Heir to the Mantle of War was wearing a contented smile. He could tell that her dreams were pleasant. For that he was grateful, if he had to watch her endure another nightmare Ares might just be the one to go insane. Xe needed some peaceful sleep, if only for a few hours. Ares gathered her close and willed them both to the bed. And still Xe slept, and not a breath of air could disturb her.

_Xe didn't know when she had had a more pleasant dream and she knew it was a dream. In it she was sitting on a hillside waiting for the dawning of a new day, and behind her Ares was there with his strong arms wrapped around her waist. But she wasn't Xe, no, she had reverted back to her true form, Xena. Ares nuzzled her neck and tightened his hold, keeping her close to his warm body with the need to hold her. Xena was his only connection to the human world, he didn't want to lose that or lose her. Ares was grateful that she had been able to slip away from the blond, her perky sidekick who still slumbered while the sun chariot made its ascent in the still dark sky. Xena sighed and settled more fully into Ares embrace. Her heart swelled with love for him, a love that she could never voice. If she did then it would destroy her. But in the pre-dawn light she could content herself with that love and pretend that they were only two people, not a __Warrior Princess__ and a War God. Soon the day would start and they would have to leave this quiet bliss behind._

_"Ares, I want you to promise me something. Whatever happens to me I want you to look after Gabrielle. Just make sure that she is safe." Xena pleaded to the lingering dark._

_"I will if she lets me." Ares placed a light kiss to the nape of Xena's neck. Something was coming and it was coming for his __beloved Warrior Princess__._

_"Just look after her." Xena muttered. In a few minutes she would have to leave his arms despite the fact that he was War, when she was in Ares arms she felt as if she were safe and nothing could harm her. They had always been that way even when she had been a child..._

Xe felt herself being pulled away from the pleasant dream and back into the waking world where she saw Ares smiling down at her. They were in his bed and no longer curled up on the floor. "Good dreams?" Ares asked, his voice slid over her like warm living silk giving her the shivers.

"Good waking," Xe smiled

"What did you dream about?" Ares asked.

"I dreamed about a lovely little hill during a lovely little sunrise when a War God held the woman he loved as she asked him to watch out for her best friend." Xe said. Ares knew all to well what hill she spoke of. That was the one peaceful morning he had had with Xena one month before she died. Every year Ares would visit that same exact spot during the same exact time and he would allow himself to cry for her in that solitary spot where no man would find him. Xena had been his world and his love. Three days before Xe called to him Ares had been in the same exact spot howling out his rage and sadness.

Xe snuggled closer to Ares pulling him out of his thoughts of the past. Xena was dead but Xe was still breathing and she needed him. He should be happy that the first peaceful dream she had was of him holding Xena but all he felt was pain. Yet he pulled her close and let her take strength from him. She needed to hold on to the happiness for a while.

"Ares?"

"Hmm."

"Would you kiss me?" Xe asked as she sat up next to him.

"Why?" Ares wanted more than anything than to kiss her, but he wasn't sure it would do to Xe.

"I want to feel what she felt." Xe had all the memories of heated, passionate, smoldering kisses. She wanted to feel the real thing and not merely remembering it. Ares licked his suddenly dry lips and then leaned over to brush his lips lightly over Xe's. Just as he was about to make the first pass Xe's leaned into him and lightly touched her lips to his first. The kiss felt as if a butterfly was dancing just above his mouth. Xe applied a little more pressure and found she was kissing Ares down into the mattress. He placed his hands on her shoulders and made her stop. As much as Ares wanted Xe to continue he would soon have no resolve left. If Xe kept kissing him, Ares would take advantage and then she would hate him later. As much as it pained him, Ares left and went to that hill she spoke of. He knew that when he came back Xe would either back off or scream and rage at him. Ares didn't know which he preferred.


	3. Chapter 3

Summary: Xena was once a hero, but she was cursed to be reincarnated over and over. It is 2009 and her name is Xe and she is being trained by Ares to control all the skills Xena once possessed. She is also trying to come to terms with who she used to be and what she feels for Ares.

Rating: M

Pairing: Xena/Ares

Xe sat on the bed astounded that Ares left, he actually left her there alone when she wanted to give him something, a kiss, a simple kiss was not too much to ask for. Maybe he still saw her as Xena, or maybe he wasn't ready to give up that part of himself that still had hope Xena would come back. It was a small hope but she still knew he wished Xena was here instead of her. Rising from the bed Xe made her way out to the balcony, the sun was just now setting and soon night would swallow the remaining light plunging the world into darkness. Turning around she hopped up onto the wide banister where she reclined pillowing her head on her folded arms. If Ares wanted to be alone who was she to judge? He was a god and she was nothing more than a pathetic broken human being who looked like the love of his life. The fates had a cruel sense of humor sometimes.

Ares was lurking in the shadows watching Xe. He would have thought she would have screamed and raged that he was being stupid, but she calmly got off the bed and walked out to the balcony where she was currently lounging on the wide banister. Ares hadn't wanted to walk away, but he felt it was the wrong time for her to be offering herself, even if it was a kiss, to him. He wouldn't have been able to control himself. And he wanted to be with her with out the memory of Xena hovering over them. Ares could still taste the sweet kiss she had given him before sailing for her death, and he had promised to take care of Gabrielle no matter what happened, though he and the bard rarely got along. But they did see eye to eye when it came to Xena. She was the single thread that connected them. He wondered how Gabrielle would handle seeing Xe. Maybe it was time to expose her to more of her legacy and finally give Gabrielle a chance to reconnect. Rather than face the tempest of Xe, if she was angry, Ares took himself to another part of Olympus where the Bard sat at a desk with quill in hand.

"Gabrielle?"

"What?"

"I... need to talk to you." Ares whispered causing Gabrielle to turn and glare at him.

"What did you say?"

"I have something to show you." He offered his hand and wearily Gabrielle took it.

Gabrielle couldn't help but notice the tortured look the God of War wore these days. Whenever he came to see her, she secretly enjoyed his company. It was a reminder of who she used to be and the life she used to live with Xena. The love she carried for her friend, her sister, her family still burned as bright as a pyre, there was no letting go of Xena. Taking his hand Gabrielle waited to see where he would take them, and was shocked to find that they wound up in his temple. It was dark and creepy but that wasn't what drew her attention. The tall, lean, raven haired woman lying on the banister of the balcony. It was Xena, but Xena was dead. She was about to call out when Ares clamped his hand down over her mouth.

"Be quiet and stay in the shadows." He whispered and then released her.

Ares stepped out of the shadows and out onto the balcony, Xe didn't turn her head, but he knew she knew he was there. Walking slowly over to her he leaned over her and smiled, but the smile had to be forced. Xe had her eyes close and her body was relaxed but Ares knew she wasn't sleeping. He leaned down further and touched his lips to her forehead. She jumped slightly and placed her hands on his chest to push him away. "I have something to show you," Ares backed away offering his hand to her. He only hoped that she would take it.

Xe slide off the banister and eyed him with suspicion. He left her on the bed and now he had something to show. How typical of a man. "Fine."

Ares walked a head of her and motioned to someone in the shadows. In that single moment a tempest of emotions washed through her; relief, love, happiness, and fear. Gabrielle stepped out of the shadows looking like she had the day Xena's spirit had come to her on the sail home. Xe felt tears collect in her eyes; she wanted to run to the Bard and gather her close, just feeling her slender frame against her body. Before she knew what she was doing, Xe took Gabrielle's hand and pulled her close. She was real and solid and here with her, not just an echo of a distant memory. This was Gabrielle, flesh and blood, and alive.

"Gabrielle?"

"Xena?"

"Almost, I'm Xe, cheap copy at your service."

"There is nothing cheap about you." Gabrielle whispered and cupped Xe's face with her hands. "You are from a proud lineage, and you… are amazing."

"There is nothing amazing about me, except the favor of War." Xe answered. It was the truth. Ares had favored the original, much as he favored her now. He was the one man she could be with who knew her and understood how she was and what her triggers were. She had lethal combat skills locked inside a body that had no training. And now to find Gabrielle, suddenly her world stabilized and things fell into place, but she still felt as though she were and outside.

She was pulled back into the shelter of Xena's arms. Gabrielle couldn't believe it; Xena, her Xena was holding her again. But she had seen her friend's lifeless corpse, she had taken the ashes home to Greece to bury them. Instead Ares had entombed them where they had weathered the test of time. It was still a place that Gabrielle visited often. But right now Xena was holding her, and she didn't care who wore her friends face, it just felt so good to be with her again.

"You don't know how much I have missed you." Gabrielle whispered.

"Bet I do." Xe pulled away. Emotions that were not her own flooded through her mind, relief, joy, and love. All of them careened inside her head. This girl, the young Bard from Potadea, had been the closest person Xena had had in a long time. Gabrielle was closer to Xena than Ares had been, and Ares had been the one to train her from the time she was fourteen. He had been grooming her to take over, take his mantle as his heir. Xe felt that he was doing the same to her, but the difference between her and Xena is that xe would take the responsibility of being the heir of Ares.

"Xena?"

"It's Xe. My name is Xe." Xe bit out immediately. She knew her tone sounded forceful and angry, but she couldn't help it. She was so used to having to tell the other immortals and trying to make them see her and not Xena that it was a gut reaction.

"Right I am so sorry, but you look..."

"Like her... yeah I know. I've seen paintings of her. Though I think she looked better. Some of her blood may have been diluted throughout the years." Xe scoffed. She never thought of herself as beautiful. Her eyes were haunted, her hair was too black, skin too pale, all of that added up made people avoid her.

"I don't think so. I see the same penetrating eyes, same full mouth, same hair, and the same voice. Xena had a voice that was like a lilting melody of a sad song. And when she sang it was as if you were in Elysium." Gabrielle pointed out.

"If that is what you see, then that is what you see." Xe responded and shrugged looking at Ares for help. He only stood behind the bard. She could tell that he was at a loss like her. The only one who was confident was Gabrielle.

"Nothing I say will help you, will it?" Gabrielle asked placing her hand on Xe's shoulder. She could see the young girl tense and want to shake off the kind hand. But to her credit Xe stayed put and let Gabrielle keep touching her.

"Nope, I'm dark and twisty inside."

"Then you have more in common with her than you know. Xena was dark and twisty inside too." Gabrielle angled her head to look at Xe; she managed to coax a smile out of her. "I could tell you so many stories..."

"Can you tell me why she chose not to be brought back?" Xe blurted out. It was killing her inside. She wanted to know why Xena chose to die rather than live and see her daughter, live on the road with her best friend, and be tempted constantly by Ares who Xe was beginning to see in a new light. She thought of him as sinfully sexy, a wonton of desire, and a man who would keep her passions fire burning through the night. He probably knew the Karma Sutra inside and out and maybe wrote a few more chapters to it.

"So many souls depended on Xena's sacrifice. It would have been wrong for her to come back after her death caused the eternal rest of so many people that she had destroyed." Gabrielle felt a lump in her throat. She had tried to convince Xena into taking the second chance, but Xena was the consummate martyr. She had to stay dead.

"Great, I suffer because she had a conscience. Perfect," Xe growled and headed away from Gabrielle. When she passed Ares she put her hand in his and felt his strength flow through her and steady her. Rather than stay with the bard Ares gave her a look and followed Xe. Every day he was seeing more and more of Xe and less of Xena. His Xena was dead and Xe was here and he was falling hard for Xe, falling for her twisty insides and her sense of low self worth. He wanted to make her know that she mattered and that she wasn't just the close of Xena and more than anything he wanted her to believe that he loved her.

Gabrielle knew better than to follow Ares and Xena, but now it was Ares and Xe who walked away from her and still she knew to stay where she was. She knew that this was the first one of the clones that he has brought here; there was something special about Xe and different all at the same time. Xe was tortured and hurting and Ares was the only one who could soothe her aching soul. When it had been Xena, it was Gabrielle who would make the pain better, but now it is Xe and that job fell to Ares. She only hoped that he realized that Xe would stay with him, all Ares had to do was ask her. It pained Gabrielle to think that Xe would stay with Ares, but the girl was right she wasn't Xena. Xena had been attracted to Ares, strongly, but she had never given into that desire. Xe would and Xe would be the heir and love Ares wanted, that much Gabrielle could see already.

Xe listened to the small voice in her mind, the voice that told her to leave this past friend. Gabrielle saw only Xena, blinded by the hero she traveled with and wrote about. It was a stigma that she would shed if she could but if she shed Xena's past then would she lose Ares? Would he want to leave her? Would he….? She stopped thinking along those lines, all she wanted was for Ares to hold her and tell her thing would be ok. She was the only one to see the softer side of Ares, the side that would stroke her back and utter soothing words while she suffered in her nightmares. It was her nightmares that made things between them hard and easy at the same time. Ares knew the horrors that Xe dreamed about, he was the cause for most of them, but he still stayed with her and made sure that she knew he had changed. Xe knew he had changed, she knew it in her heart.

"I am so tired of everyone seeing me as Xena," Xe turned and wrapped her arms around Ares, resting her cheek against the soft black of his t-shirt. "Why won't they see me?"

"I see you, isn't that enough?" Ares enfolded her in his arms and kissed the top of her head. Xena would never allow such easy touching, but Xe was different. She welcomed his touch and made him feel whole. He would die all over again if Xe was taken from his life.

"It is for me but," Xe looked into his eyes and said, "I'm Xe, that's who I am, not Xena. I only carry her memories and wear her face, but I am not her. Every time I say that my words fall on deaf ears, except yours."

Ares kissed Xe lightly, let her grow accustomed to the feel of his lips and let her taste him. This was not the kiss they had shared in his bed, when Xe had had that dream of the last time he and Xena had been together. On that hill was the last time Xena had kissed him, touched him, and let him hold her. But this kiss was different, it was all Xe, no trace of Xena lingered on her lips, in her taste. This was his tortured, pained, dark and twisty Xe, and he loved her so much.

Through many years and changing ideals of humans Ares learned compassion, and it was all due to his loss of Xena and the finding of Xe. She was his now and he was not going to let go no matter how hard she tried to convince him that she wasn't worth anything. Xe was his sun, his moon, his stars, and his whole word. The Titans could break free and he wouldn't care so long as he could hold Xe and taste her lips. So many memories flooded through her and they were all of previous kisses Xena had shared with Ares. They were all hot and passionate and full of lust. Xe wanted her time to with Ares to be sweet, but he was War and nothing about War was sweet or gentle. She pulled back and lowered her head. This was not how she wanted them to start. Xe wanted her and Ares to start when he truly saw her for her, and not Xena his once long ago love.

Ares moved away quickly, he could feel himself losing control, "No, not like this. When I make love to you I want to be the man you love, not just a memory of a God who terrorized you." He stated and shook his head.

"Ares, please," Xe choked out. She knew she was nothing like the old Xena. She didn't have her courage, her strength, or her determination. In truth Xe was a scarred, broken, frightened child who was tired. Ares pulled her back into his arms and just held her.

"I want you to love me not fear me," Ares whispered, pain ripping through his heart and his mind.

"I do love you, more than she ever did." Xe responded.


	4. Chapter 4

Summary: Xena was once a hero, but she was cursed to be reincarnated over and over. It is 2009 and her name is Xe and she is being trained by Ares to control all the skills Xena once possessed. She is also trying to come to terms with who she used to be and what she feels for Ares.

Rating: M

Pairing: Xena/Ares

**TWO WEEKS LATER:**

Xe roamed the splendor that was Olympus while she contemplated her life. Things were too quiet here in the home of the gods and that usually boded ill news for those in residence. She knew that for things to be this quiet something was stirring and all it needed was time. But those would be thoughts for another day. Right now Xe thought about Gabrielle and all the memories the blonde invoked. At least when she had been with Ares, he knew how to handle the tumult that was her raging memories and the raging emotions such memories left behind. All she wanted was to be in her War God's arms and forget about the world, forget about who she used to be. She wasn't Xena and she never would be. Gabrielle had this expectation of reclaiming her friend. That was what infuriated her the most; the expectation of Xena's return. It was beginning to be a broken refrain in her mind. "I'm not Xena!"

"_You can't hold that against them."_

Xe turned to try and find the source of the voice she had just heard. It sounded like hers only with more of an accent. Was she finally losing her mind? No she couldn't have heard what she heard. Xe was safe from her own insanity here on Olympus, at least she thought she was.

"_They expect the Warrior Princess to rise again."_

Again the voice and this time when Xe turned to survey the area around her she saw the ghostly reflection of herself. Only this version donned battle armor and had a sword in her hand; the same sword she had seen in a case in Ares temple. This was Xena. "Well, they are going to have to settle for me, your cheap replacement who is teetering on the edge of insanity. Sorry to disappoint." Xe seethed. Defiantly she crossed her arms over her chest. Granted the best thing she could do is not talk to a figment of her imagination, but she was alone. Who would notice?

"_Trust Gabrielle and she will show you who you could be, the good you could do. Ares will…"_

"Ares loves me and he is keeping me safe!" Xe shouted. Another point goes to her ever growing insanity. Right now she didn't care. Right now figment Xena was trying to lay seeds of doubt in her mind about Ares, the God who saved her. She wouldn't turn on him, not matter what. Xe was in debt to Ares and she would never leave him no matter what.

"Who are you talking to?"

Turning again Xe saw Hercules and resisted the urge to sigh. His hate was something that she didn't need right now. It was clear to her that the former hero despised her, despised who she was. "Why do you care?" Xe bit out and immediately felt bad for her tone as she saw a cord of sadness being struck in his eyes.

"Despite what you may think, I don't hate you." Hercules sighed and ran his right hand through his hair. In over two thousand years he had not changed his appearance once. Looking at Xe he catalogued her appearance. She was dressed as a female mirror of Ares. She wore a corset that was designed for her to look just like the vest Ares wore, leather pants made of rawhide that disappeared into knee his black boots. Gracing her arms were cuffs and gauntlets. And her hair was pulled back in a tight braid going down her back. Hercules almost wanted to be sick at the sight of how she was dressed. He was more at home with her when she wore black t-shirts and ratty torn jeans.

"Could have fooled me," Xe retorted. Try as she might, she couldn't be angry at him, mainly that due to Xena's influence and the power of her memories.

"It's not easy having you here. All of us mourned Xena's passing. Having you here is like a knife in the heart." Hercules tried to explain but he could see that she was letting his explanation go in one ear and out the other.

"You think I asked for this? Do you think I want to be a vestige of your past grief?" Xe was amazed that she could keep her voice calm even when everything in her wanted to scream, to rage, and even to punch him.

"You're an innocent, I know that." Hercules lowered his head. Everything about this girl caused him pain and yet everything about this girl made Ares happy beyond all reason. The world was coming to an end when War was in a good mood.

"No, I'm not. Without the stain of blood on my hands Ares would never take a second look at me even if I was the exact copy of his lost love, his Warrior, and heir to his mantle. I took the life of the man who stole my family from me." Xe turned from Hercules and continued. "When I was fifteen I found the man who killed my family living under a bridge. He was strung out on drugs and he barely knew what day it was, but he seemed to know me. He knew why I had found him. With no thought to what would happen to me I killed him. He couldn't even defend himself."

Hercules listened to her hollow, empty words. She was truly broken inside. Not even Xena would have killed a man who could barely fight. It went against her warrior's code; it went against her code even when she had been a warlord. That Xena never would have killed an old man or someone incapable of fighting. "You were avenging your family."

Ares was lingering in the shadows as he listened to Xe talk to his half brother. Back when Xena had been alive he knew she took great comfort in talking to her old friend who had once been a lover. That knowledge didn't bother Ares as much as it should have because at the end of the day he knew that he was the only one who could excite Xena and make her burn for him. Xe was the same way but there was a sort of sincerity to her passion for him. Ares had yet to taste her, to take her, but he knew that she cared for him in a way Xena never did, never could. Even if Xe had been an innocent Ares would have fallen for her. If she had been innocent he would have been able to make her into the warrior Xena had been.

Coming out of the shadows Ares cleared his throat and said, "Am I interrupting?"

"No."

"Yes."

Xe and Hercules spoke at once. Hercules watched as Xe automatically went into Ares open arms and tucked her head up under his chin. She was so at ease with him despite her knowledge of the monster he was. Ares delighted in the suffering of others. He inflicted pain and made those who crossed him suffer. This was not a man who deserved someone like Xe. But then again who would have thought Ares would have saved the poor, broken child when she called to him.

As soon as she saw Ares, Xe felt instantly better. She had started to panic at the memory of the first and only murder she had committed. But just having Ares there chased away the worst of the feeling.

"Do you want to walk among the mortals for a while?" Ares whispered.

Xe pulled back and asked, "Are you sure?"

"Anything you want to do." Ares replied and kissed her temple.

"I want…" Xe paused. Never before had she uttered those words. They felt foreign on her tongue. But she knew Ares would do anything for her, anything at all. Even if that meant she risked insanity while traversing the world of mortality, a world that she still technically belonged in. Xe was still a mortal who lived among Gods. "What if I lose my mind?"

"I'll be with you." Ares replied. He wanted to get Xe away from the others for a while. She was looking more lost and lost as the days went on. It was hard to believe that she had been here for five months. Just yesterday, it seemed, Ares was bringing Xe here for safety.

"But…"

"I won't let you out of my sight." Ares ran his knuckles down the side of her face and tried to chase away the rise of fear he saw in her steel grey eyes. Still he marveled at the softness. His Xe was beautiful, untouched by battle scars. Backing away he held out his hand and waited. He wasn't kept waiting long. Xe put her hand in his and smiled at him. He lived for that smile. He lived for her every whim and happiness. War was who he was, but with Xe he was learning to be a man. With that thought in mind Ares took Xe to the Athenian Parthenon in Athens . A little touch of home would be a good pace to start.

The sight before Hercules's eyes made his heart clench. This was something Ares would never have done for Xena. She wouldn't have known what to do with him. This side of Ares was a change and Hercules wasn't sure if it was a welcome one. Xena had been important to them all, but most of all to Ares who had fallen in love with her. Xe was something else entirely and the former Hero of men wasn't sure if she was going to be on the side of good. Xena knew the mind of evil, had lived it for a while, and turned to being a champion for good. Ares having his claws so deeply imbedded in Xe was, for the moment, the only thing keeping the girl sane. Only time would tell if she would truly follow in Xena's footsteps of be a raging homicidal maniac at the command of one of the most unforgiving Gods. It was then that the two of them dissolved into the white and blue power that Ares left behind when ever he went to mortal earth.

"_She's not listening to me."_

Hercules turned to see the Ghostly image of Xena. "I can tell."

"_Hercules, I'm worried about her. Ares is polluting her mind."_

"Xe is strong willed and if we push her too hard before she is ready then she's going to retreat further into the grasp of War." Hercules smiled at Xena. Everything about her he had loved in life was still with her. She had her raven hair, her steel grey eyes, and slight smile. But he had the woman he loved; Morrigan. "I promise to keep an eye on her."

"_Thank you my old friend. I would hate to lose the last tie I have to this world."_

It pained Hercules to watch his friend fade as if she had never been there. Walking away he went to see Gabrielle. The bard had been here for centuries only sustained by Ares. In a sick way Hercules could understand why he kept her around. When he was able to find Xena, she would want Gabrielle. It was always that way.

Walking into the temple Hercules saw Gabrielle sitting at a table reading a scroll. The bard was always reading or writing. This whole temple was hers and it was filled with parchment, scrolls, ink, and various quills; all of which Ares had provided with out much of a fight. Hercules leaned over Gabrielle's shoulder and lightly kissed her on the cheek. "Hi."

Gabrielle had heard Hercules enter but she remained still and let him come to her. The skills Xena had taught her still served her well in this immortal life. "Hi." Turning Gabrielle read his face immediately. "I assume you just came from seeing Xe?" There was no warmth in her voice as she spoke of the young woman who wore the face of her best friend.

"Yes," Hercules sat down and continued. "I'm worried about her. She is getting too close to Ares."

"I know and that's why I've been in here all day." Gabrielle removed a scroll and showed it to Hercules. On the tanned parchment was a map to a stone that could separate a person's soul from their body and allow a shade to take its place. The stone was well guarded and allowed no one to retrieve it without suffering some penance. Gabrielle had been considering going after it so she could use it again Xe and gain Xena back.

"You want to use this on Xe?" Hercules asked all though he already knew the response he would get.

"Yes." Gabrielle wanted Xena back. She needed her best friend. Xena was her only family. Gabrielle would do anything to get her family back.

**ATHENS:**

Xe stood in the ancient temple and looked down at the city she used to live in. the minute Ares had brought her here she thought she would feel the weight of her insanity crash into her mind, but she felt nothing but calm. Xe just guessed it was because Ares was still near her. He was like a protective father watching out for her. But there was nothing paternal in his eyes when he looked at her. Ares was burdened by a love that burned as bright as the sun and that love was all for Xe. It warmed her heart and her soul to know that.

Ares leaned on one of the pillars watching Xe watch the world below her. She was calm and she marveled at the restoration the humans were doing for his sister's temple; the sister Xena had killed. For an instant the pain of Athena's loss ripped at his heart, but was quickly replaced by love when he saw Xe leaning over the edge to look down. Shaking his head Ares sauntered over to her and wrapped his arms around her waist. She melted into him instantly. It was a feeling that he would kill to protect. Around the other Gods and Demigods Ares had to be a cold unfeeling son of a bitch. He was War after all and it went with the sadistic personality. But when he was with Xe he could be a man and he was a man, immortal, very much in love.

Xe turned to Ares and smiled, and then she noticed the scaffolds dotted about the crumbling temple. "What are they doing?"

Ares knew what she was talking about. "They are restoring this once great temple."

"But why?" Xe asked.

"I guess it's a humans need to honor the Gods they no longer believe it. It's a testament to the past." Why was he talking like this? He sounded ridiculous. But he was with Xe so he was content.

"Athena's dead. She doesn't need temples, even restored ones." Xe replied. She had scattered memories of Xena slaying the goddess.

"This place…" Ares didn't know how to respond so he let his sentence drop. He just wanted to hold Xe and watch the human world. This was a world that had shunned his warrior, had left her to die on the cold streets. But now she was with him he was going to make sure she outlived all the poor saps that had hurt her. Ares wanted to make her immortal, to make her his queen. This was the role she was always meant to have, but more than that he wanted to make her his wife. For now he was just content to hold her even though his nature as a War God demanded him to push her away, to hurt her. That was something Ares would never do to Xe.


	5. Chapter 5

Summary: Xena was once a hero, but she was cursed to be reincarnated over and over. It is 2009 and her name is Xe and she is being trained by Ares to control all the skills Xena once possessed. She is also trying to come to terms with who she used to be and what she feels for Ares.

Rating: T+

Pairing: Xena/Ares

**THE NEW XENA:**

On Olympus thunder rumbled, lightening split the skin, and rain pelted the mountain stronghold of the once mighty Gods. Gabrielle sat alone in her small temple reading through an ancient scroll used for summoning spirits back into the mortal world, back into their body. She had spent hundreds of years looking for ways to bring Xena back; the time needing a hero once again. Reading the words, focusing on what she wanted, Gabrielle summoned the soul of her long lost friend, her family.

**ATHENS****:**

Ares woke to the sun rising over the dilapidated Athenian Acropolis with Xe snuggled into his side holding him so close. He actually smiled at that. Most of the time he saw such fire in her eyes; the same fire Xena had. At other times he saw so much fear that his heart broke just looking at her. Never in a thousand years had he thought to see his warrior in such a state. In the months that Xe had been with him the fear had faded from her eyes and she was gaining the confidence her blood line was known for. Given a few more months the fear would be gone.

Looking around Ares saw they had spent all night sleeping under the stars near a forgotten temple. "Xe," He whispered, "We have to wake up and go home." Olympus was his home as it was Xe's. She was what made it home for him. The God of War was learning love, a different kind of love. Xe only snuggled closer into his embrace. Ares smiled wryly trying again, "Xe, time to wake up." He urged her with a gentle shake. She opened her eyes and looked at him. In her eyes he saw knowledge, strength; he saw the penetrating gaze of Xena. But that was impossible. "Xe?"

She felt strange, oddly solid. Xena was back in a body, and it was the body of her descendant; Xe. "Ares…" she drew out his name in that familiar manner. "What's going on?" Xena stood feeling her body; it felt untested, new, and familiar all at the same time. She wiggled her fingers, stretched her arms, and made fists. With her eyes she looked at the sky as if seeing it for the first time. Sounds were so loud and so welcome to her ears. Everything was new and yet old. Xena turned to look at Ares; he too looked the same as the last time she saw him only is hair had grown back out.

"Xena?" Ares asked half out of disbelief and half out of fear. Where was his Xe, his frightened timid untrained warrior who was finding her way with him? "Where's Xe?" He wanted her back.

"I don't know." Xena answered.

Then it struck Ares, "Gabrielle and that damned scroll." Reaching his hand out towards Xena he continued, "Come on. I know who to ask." Her hand was a welcome weight in his when she grasped it. Before taking them back to Olympus Ares growled, "I'm going to fix this and get Xe back."

Xena felt cold at his words. He truly loved her descendant. That was clear to her now and it hurt her. Back when she had been alive she had been so convinced that Ares loved nothing and no one beside the carnage of war. Now she knew that wasn't so. Xena felt oddly shamed to see another side of Ares that existed when she had been alive and she hadn't even tried to see it.

**OLYMPUS:**

Ares stormed through the temple Gabrielle had taken looking for the irritating blond bard. "Gabrielle!" He roared making the marble tremble. "Get out here!" Ares started going through all of the scrolls the bard had left about on the table in the center of the room. When he found her Ares would definitely show no mercy to her this time. She had taken the one person that he loved; Xe was what he had been missing I his life.

Xena had never seen Ares so mad in all of her life. He was normally calm and cool using manipulation to his advantage. Had one timid little girl or her blood line changed him so much? She stayed out of the way of his frantic search just watching him. "Ares, she's not here." Xena spoke.

Ares stopped moving, "Oh, that irritating blond is here somewhere. I'm going to find her and have her undo whatever she did to Xe!" Ares was shouting and he couldn't seem to stop. Xe was gone, her personality eradicated all because of one blond. It was maddening and when he found Gabrielle he was definitely going to have a few choice words with her.

"Why is one timid young girl so important to you?" Xena couldn't keep the acid out of her voice. At one time Ares had desired her and her alone. Why had he changed?

"Because she needed me to make he feel sane. I was needed!" The strength went out of his legs and the mighty War God crumbled to his knees. For now Xe was gone and he had Xena back. Shouldn't he be happy? Isn't this what he wanted? Wasn't he trying to turn Xe into Xena? Though, in the end she had made him see her. Xe had made Ares see the fear she lived with daily. Only now did he get what her fear was. She was afraid of disappearing, of being replaced. Now he got it and what a fool he had been.

Xena came to him and drew her hand down the back of his head in a comforting gesture; the anger and hate gone out of her. She crouched down next to him speaking softly, "We'll figure out why I'm back and what Gabrielle did. I promise." She didn't belong in this world anymore and she knew it. Ares didn't need her. He needed Xe to feel like a human. He was the human he could never be with her. Xena's heart broke at that thought.

**THRONE ROOM:**

Hercules stood with Morrigan and Gabrielle when felt a strong boiling anger breathe through the room. Looking at the entrance he saw his brother and Xe. But something was off about her. The way she stood, the way she looked around the room, everything was different. "What's going on?" He wondered.

"It worked," Gabrielle could see Xena staring back at her rather than the scared little girl Ares had shown her.

"You did this?" Morrigan wondered seeing for the first time the infamous Xena that Hercules spoke so highly of.

"Yes, but I didn't think…" Gabrielle started to say.

"Exactly! You didn't think!" Ares shouted at her. "You only thought about you!"

"All I have is myself! Xena was my world!" Gabrielle shouted back.

"And Xe was MINE!" Ares stalked across the room to the blond.

"Ares! Gabrielle! Stop!" Xena shouted from across the throne room. The last thing she needed was to stop a fight between Ares and Gabrielle. She stepped between them and continued, "This won't help get Xe back."

"Why would you want to get her back?" Gabrielle asked, disbelief coloring her words.

"Gabrielle, this isn't my body, and it isn't my time." Xena sighed pulling her best friend close, "Xe is the one who is meant to be here, not me. I'm not needed anymore."

"I need you," Gabrielle cried out burying her face in the crook of Xena's neck. She finally had her best friend back and now Xena wanted to leave. She wanted to be dead again.

Ares saw the sight before him ad felt oddly unmoved. The woman embracing the blond was a woman he would have conqueror the world for, but she wasn't who he wanted anymore. He wanted the scared, timid girl Xe had been. She was finding her inner strength, finding her path and now she was gone from him. Ares teleported back to his temple to get away from everyone. He wanted to be alone as his heart broke once again.

**LATER THAT NIGHT:**

Xena came into Ares temple to see him sitting, legs stretched out, on the railing of his balcony. The view she knew overlooked all of Olympus . She had been standing alone in the shadows for an hour watching him drink from a wine skin. To her, he looked so sad. It was a look she had never seen from him before. Then again a lot of his reactions were new to Xena. Deep down she had wanted to see these emotions from him when she had been alive. It might have made a difference between them. She knew she loved him, but it was a love that would have destroyed her. Her old life, the life Ares gave her, was all she had known at a young age. Yes, Xena broke free once. But if she had been drawn back to it; she didn't know if she would have had the strength to leave it again.

Ares sat stretched out on his balcony looking out at his veritable paradise of a home wishing Xe was there with him. He wanted nothing more than to hold her. His home wasn't important to him without her here to marvel at what he took for granted. Once more he upended the wine skin, squirting wine into his mouth thinking about her. Ares never understood why she would sit out here for hours on end just staring out at the landscape. He had seen the splendor of Olympus a millions times before, but for Xe each new day here with him was a new wonder to her eyes. She had always asked him why his black marble temple was built on a hill so far from the other. Ares would tell her he wasn't a very friendly God. She would laugh at him and accept his answer, at least she would accept it for the time being until she asked again. Xe never failed to ask him that question again.

Xena stepped out on to the balcony, "Gabrielle hasn't found the scroll yet." She said for lack of anything better to say. The god she used to know so well was all but a stranger to her now.

"And how hard do you think she is looking?" Ares sniped taking another gulp of wine from the skin. "She got what she wanted." He finally had a woman to call his own, a woman who wanted him and now she was gone. When he figured out what to do about it he would fix things. Until then he wanted to drink and wallow in his loss.

"Ares, you're going to have to talk to me some time, really talk to me." Xena muttered. She couldn't chase away her feeling of hurt at Ares ignoring her. His constant attention was something Xena never thought she would miss.

"Me talking to you isn't the problem." Ares grumbled. "I don't want to fall in love with you again. Having you here hurts." He slid off the railing to stand in front of her. "I was broken for years after you died. Then I felt a ripple of familiar feeling when your reincarnations started showing themselves. Each one was worse and worse off from the multitude of memories. And then there was Xe. She called out to me, wanting my help. I was finally needed."

"Oh, Ares…" Xena wanted to reach out to him. She wanted to hold him like he had held her when she had been a small girl afraid of a thunder storm. "She actually means a lot to you?"

"Yes," Ares answered. He had spent years trying to win Xena, trying to make her his heir, but she hadn't wanted that. Xe, oddly enough, wanted to be with him and wanted to be known as his heir. He failed to protect her when he had given his word that he would. "Because of your blond friend I have failed to protect Xe."

"Ares, I'm going to help you fix this." Xena promised. "I know I don't belong here and I know it was…"

"Please don't finish that thought." Ares pleaded. "It's enough of a knife in the heart just looking into your eyes again," He looked away; back out towards the landscape before his balcony.

"I never meant to cause you pain." Xena whispered.

"Even when I dealt you nothing but suffering?" Ares mocked slamming his fists into the railing. "I was nothing to you but an enemy." He growled.

"That's not true," Xena stepped closer to him putting her arms around his waist and pillowing her head on his right shoulder blade. For a second she thought he was going to push her away from the way he stiffened under her touch. But he didn't. "I remember a man who held a frightened child as she shivered against a thunderstorm. You told me back then that I shouldn't be afraid."

Against his better judgment Ares chuckled at that, "Xe uses the same memory against me when she wants to make a point." Still he refused to turn to her.

"That was not the act of a God who gave me nothing but suffering. You found me as a child and made me feel safe." Xena confessed. That was a story she had never shared with Gabrielle. Her best friend was kind and tender hearted, but she knew that hearing a story about a kinder, gentler God of War would be too fantastical even for Gabrielle.

"What's your point?"

"Our time is done, I don't belong here, but Xe does." She kissed his bare back feeling the heat of his skin for the first time in a long while; "The Fates never gave us a real chance."

"Not even when I bribed them," Ares joked. This time he turned to her. "I wanted you more than my godhood Xena."

"I know you did." She looked away for a second, "But I wasn't ready for the love you offered."

In her temple Gabrielle searched in vain for the scroll that she had read from. She hadn't wanted to look for it at all but Xena had asked and Gabrielle did it. Guilt pricked at her at what she had done to Xe and the way she had betrayed Ares after everything that he had done for her. He had given her this place to live, given her immortality. Ares had given her everything that she had now. What had she done? She had taken the one person he prized more than his life replacing her with the love he never could have. She felt terrible now just thinking about it. It was her loneliness that drove her actions. Now she had to deal with the consequences. Funny, when she had been thinking this up she never thought for one minute that Xena didn't belong in this time, in this place with her. Gabrielle never thought that Ares would cringe at the sight of Xena. Maybe, once in a while she should actually pull her head out of her scrolls and take a look at the people around her.

"Found it yet?"

Gabrielle whirled around to see Hercules standing just inside the archway looking at her. "No," Her shoulder slumped, "Not yet. And now I feel really bad."

"I warned you," Hercules sighed, "but you're not to blame. I wanted this too." He sat down on one of the vacant benches looking at all of the scrolls that Gabrielle had written about her travels with Xena. So much history was stored here, so many memories.

"At least I know Ares can't kill me now." Gabrielle tried to joke, but he humor didn't reach her eyes. She wasn't feeling very happy or anything at the moment. All she had wanted was her best friend returned to her, but she had hurt two people in the process; Ares and Xena. That was never her intention.

"No," Hercules reached out and draped his arm across the bard's shoulders. "But I know how you feel about Xena. You missed her so much to risk everything."

"I wasn't thinking when I read that scroll. My actions…" Gabrielle sighed, "They were motivated by loneliness and desperation." She leaned her head on the big guy's shoulder and felt the beginning of tears gathering in her eyes.

"This is really how hard you are working to fix this?"

Gabrielle and Hercules looked up to see Ares and Xena striding towards them. Ares as usual was angry and Xena looked closed off. Her face was an unreadable mask. Gabrielle knew that face very well. She knew on the inside Xena was in turmoil. Xena was suffering inside. Gabrielle stood up speaking to Ares, "Do you see this mess? I have been going through scroll after scroll looking for the one I need. You rushing me is not helping." She turned her back on him and started looking again.

Hercules rose from the bench going to his brother and Xena, "Ares give her some space. She has been looking. Gabrielle was only taking a break."

"Every second she waste's something terrible could happen to Xe undoing all of the confidence she has gained since being here." Ares argued. Granted what little sanity she gained hadn't been much, but he didn't want to see Xe spiral out of control and fall into the deep pit of despair she had been in when he first went to her.

"Hercules, don't argue with Ares. He's right." Xena stepped in between the brothers. "This is her life not mine. Ares is fighting for the woman he loves." That knowledge sliced her in the heart. It hurt her to know that she was no longer the main reason for him to be Ares. That job now rested with Xe. Somehow she kept him acting human, kept him in balance.

"Xena…"

"Don't Hercules," Xena turned sad eyes on her old friend, "I don't belong here. Xe needs to be here. This is her home now. The world I knew is gone." She walked off to go to Gabrielle and help her. As much as Xena wanted to go on living, it would be hard to see Ares with Xe every day. She loved the god of War, but she didn't love him enough to stay. His love was like Greek fire. Once it started burning it would consume everything and Xena didn't want to be consumed.

"What did you say to Xena?" Hercules asked in a plain even tone. There was no hate or recrimination in his voice. He was so tired of hating his brother.

"I told her the truth; I didn't want to fall in love with her again." Ares looked away as he spoke.

"And what if Gabrielle can't find the right scroll to make things right?" Hercules looked at his half brother and saw the pain written all over Ares face. It was a pain he never thought War could know, but it was there and Hercules was feeling sorry for Ares for the first time in his whole life.

"Then Xena can stay here and I'll leave. Being near her, seeing her as she used to be would be too much for me. I already buried her once…" Ares looked once more at Xena before he left. Where could he go that was special to only Xe and him? Nowhere, that's where. Making a choice Ares went to the same spot where he had first encountered Xena the first time. The land was changed but his memory wasn't. A tree still grew on the hill and it still overlooked the village that had been her home. Ares sat down feeling weary for the first time in years. This was where his journey started with a little girl who would grow to be the Warrior Princess and Mistress of his heart. Looking up at the sky he almost wished for a thunderstorm just so he would have something to distract his mind from the dark thoughts he was thinking.


End file.
